I got new glasses the other day and while trying on 200 different pairs, I made a comment about glasses having polycarbonate lenses like safety glasses, so my regular glasses should be adequate protection. Au Contraire! The associate helping me find the proper fitting specks informed me that… While polycarbonate lenses in regular glasses may not shatter, if they come out of the frames, they pop IN towards your face. The lenses inside safety glasses pop out. SO I learned that I need Over Glasses Safety Glasses to be truly protected!
In short, regular glasses do not offer the same protection as safety glasses! SOOooo, ASAP I started looking at options. I looked at prescription safety glasses first. But I decided it would be a pain to switch glasses constantly. I thought it would be easier to find safety glasses to go over the top of my regular glasses.
I have pretty big frames (’cause I like the current nerdy style) so I had to look- very- hard to find over glasses safety glasses that would fit! I found three pairs to try out. These were under $10 each from Amazon.
Over Glasses Safety Glasses
First up we have Crews ($6.98). These are my favorite of the three because they fit over my glasses the best. These are the most comfortable to me…except when I take them off. They have a grippy “hybrid black temple sleeve” that pulls my hair – every time!
(This probably wouldn’t be an issue for short hair but for long hair that is pulled up in a pony or bun, it’s a B! And, long hair should always be pulled back when working with power tools!)
No worries! The temple sleeves can be easily pulled out. Then a couple little pokey nubs will be exposed. These can be sanded off. I used 80 grit sandpaper to sand them down, then 220 to smooth out the scratches made by the course 80. Then I buffed the stems silky smooth with some 600.
Now they’re perfect!
Next, we have Global Vision ($6.16). These glasses are…a statement to say the least! The lens part is not as tall as the previous ones and my glasses don’t fit inside these quite as well. They still work and are a close second. The great thing about these is there is no grippy rubber anywhere on them so the stems slide in and out of my pulled back hair with no problems at all!
Next up are Gateway ($3.99) safety glasses. These fit really well over my large frame regular glasses too. Just as well as the first pair. The downside to these is the whole stem is grippy and I can’t see a remedy. They’re just long hair pullers. I’ll keep them as back up.
I now have a pair sitting at my table saw and another at the station where I use most of my portable tools for quick access to proper eye protection over my glasses.
‘Cause I only got one pair of these baby blues and I don’t want to lose them!
Are your eyes protected? Here’s the lineup again if you’re interested in getting one or more of the same.
Check out my other “Safety Tips”
AndyH says
Thanks for these reviews Sandra. As a glasses wearer I have been looking for some for a while too. I ended up with some heavy looking Dewalt ones but think I will give some of these a try too!
Sandra says
I think I have those same DeWalt ones. The giant goggles with an elastic band? I do like when I’m drilling above my head because they are completely sealed but they are just tooooo much for slipping on while I make a cut on the table saw etc.
Gwen says
You crazy. 🙂
Sandra says
haha You obviously don’t wear glasses and haven’t dealt with this problem. LOL
Val says
What a perfect timing! I was just thinking about it yesterday. I have all sort of personal protection, including goggles and a face mask for working with chemicals. Unfortunately I am getting old and now need reading glasses.
Yesterday, while assembling a piece of furniture, suddenly realized that not only I can’t read the instructions with naked eyes but can’t see whether the screws are philips or pozi. And my regular glasses kept falling off if I bent too low. Very annoying 🙁 It made me think what I am supposed to do if the job requires safety glasses. Was going to post a question on the local DIY forum 🙂
Sandra says
Val you should definitely check out the other “Crew”options (the ones I liked best). They have reader safety glasses — maybe transition. I don’t know if these are a good option. I’m starting to have to play trombone myself so will be looking into this in my future.
Val says
Thank you Sandra! I am in UK but they sell them here too – both 1.0 and 1.5 diopter versions. I am somewhere between. Had no idea there are safety glasses with diopters, that’s brilliant! So glad that I found your blog and subscribed for the newsletters 🙂
John @ AZ DIY Guy says
I’ve always had trouble finding good, over-the-glasses safety glasses. Like you, I buy the poly carbonite lenses. They actually saved an eye once when a drill bit carved a trench through a lense. Still, I wear safety glasses now.
I’m going to check these three out. They look much better than the big old pair I use that look like a clear version of glaucoma sunglasses. Don’t even get me started on the old-school goober goggles with the elastic headband.
One thing you didn’t mention, that I’ve struggled with in the past was clearance between the lenses. Over time, I’ve had them rub and scratch my new (expensive) glasses. Any thoughts on this from the ones you tried?
Sandra says
Yeah for not losing your eyeball! Sheesh — nothing to play around with. I think it’s so much of just finding ones that work with your specific glasses which is why I ordered three different pairs. The funky black ones — my glasses fit tightly into. Not sure if that’s a good thing or not but there’s definitely no movement. The Crew ones that I like best, they don’t touch lenses on my regular glasses. I think it’s just a matter of trying them on. 🙂 Hope you find a good pair. I have those huge goggle ones too and they’re — a lot! LOL
Jordan says
Great stuff! I’ve always hated using safety glasses, which I know is pretty terrible, but they hurt sometimes with my glasses on too. Now I won’t grumble so much! Thanks for sharing!
Jen says
You’re so funny and I love you. I was literally laughing out loud at all of your poses.
That Screen Guy says
I just started wearing glasses a month ago and its been driving me NUTS! I am head glazier for a 8 store home improvement chain and do tons of window and door re-screening and glass repair. I tried two pairs of safety glasses over my glasses one makes my glasses fog up and the other pushes against my glasses so they come off when I take the safety glasses off. I gave up and thought there were no other options. Thank you for informing me that there are other safety glasses that may work better, I will keep searching for the right ones for me.
Have a great day all.